Patrick IV, 8th Earl of Dunbar and Earl of March (124210 October 1308), sometimes called Patrick de Dunbar "8th" Earl of March, was the most important

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

in the border regions of

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. He was one of the

Competitors for the Crown of Scotland When the crown of Scotland became vacant in September 1290 on the death of the seven-year-old Queen Margaret, 13 claimants to the throne came forward. Those with the most credible claims were John Balliol, Robert de Brus, 5th Lord of Annandale, ...

Succession

Said to be aged 47 at his

father A father is the male parent of a child. Besides the paternal bonds of a father to his children, the father may have a parental, legal, and social relationship with the child that carries with it certain rights and obligations. An adoptive fathe ...

's death, Sir Patrick de Dunbar, Knight, Earl of Dunbar, had livery of his

's lands on 14 May 1290. It appears that this Earl of Dunbar assumed the additional alternate title Earl of March, as he appeared designated ''Comes de Marchia'' at the parliament at

Birgham Birgham is a village in Berwickshire, parish of Eccles in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland, near Coldstream and the River Tweed, on the A698. Birgham is close to Ednam, Kelso, Lempitlaw, ...

in 1290, for the purpose of betrothing the Princess Margaret to the son of King

Edward I of England Edward I (17/18 June 1239 – 7 July 1307), also known as Edward Longshanks and the Hammer of the Scots, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1272 to 1307. Concurrently, he ruled the duchies of Aquitaine and Gascony as a vassa ...

. (This failed to come about).

Ambition and submission

Patrick was one of the "seven earls of Scotland," a distinct body separate from the other estates of the realm, who claimed the right to elect a king in cases of disputed succession. He was one of the Competitors for the Crown of Scotland in 1291, when he entered a formal claim in right of his great-grandmother, Ada, Countess of Dunbar, an illegitimate daughter of

William The Lion William the Lion, sometimes styled William I and also known by the nickname Garbh, "the Rough"''Uilleam Garbh''; e.g. Annals of Ulster, s.a. 1214.6; Annals of Loch Cé, s.a. 1213.10. ( 1142 – 4 December 1214), reigned as King of Scots from 11 ...

, King of Scots.Anderson (1867), vol.iv, p. 74 Like so many Scottish noblemen, including the Bruces, Dunbar held lands in England also which required knights' services, and he was summoned by King Edward I in 1294 to assist him at war in

Gascony Gascony (; french: Gascogne ; oc, Gasconha ; eu, Gaskoinia) was a province of the southwestern Kingdom of France that succeeded the Duchy of Gascony (602–1453). From the 17th century until the French Revolution (1789–1799), it was part o ...

Fealty, then disobedience

The Earl of Dunbar and March, with the

Earl of Angus The Mormaer or Earl of Angus was the ruler of the medieval Scottish Provinces of Scotland, province of Angus, Scotland, Angus. The title, in the Peerage of Scotland, is held by the Duke of Hamilton, and is used as a courtesy title for the eldes ...

, Robert Bruce the elder, and his son the

Earl of Carrick Earl of Carrick (or Mormaer of Carrick) is the title applied to the ruler of Carrick (now South Ayrshire), subsequently part of the Peerage of Scotland. The position came to be strongly associated with the Scottish crown when Robert the Bruce, ...

, swore fealty to the English King at

Wark Wark or WARK may refer to: *Wark (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Wark (river), a river in Luxembourg *WARK (AM), talk radio station in Hagerstown, Maryland *Wark on Tweed, a village in Carham parish, in the north of Englan ...

on 25 March 1296. In this turbulent year he appears to have been betrayed by his wife, who took the Scottish side and retained the castle of Dunbar for Balliol, but was obliged to surrender it to King

in April 1296. In 1297 it appears that the Earl ceased his allegiance to Edward I, held his lands of the Scottish Crown, and was favourably received by Sir

William Wallace Sir William Wallace ( gd, Uilleam Uallas, ; Norman French: ; 23 August 1305) was a Scottish knight who became one of the main leaders during the First War of Scottish Independence. Along with Andrew Moray, Wallace defeated an English army a ...

, with whom he had been in bitter battle the previous year. In 1298 he was King's Lieutenant for Scotland, and in 1300 was present at the siege of

Caerlaverock Castle Caerlaverock Castle is a moated triangular castle first built in the 13th century. It is located on the southern coast of Scotland, south of Dumfries, on the edge of the Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve. Caerlaverock was a stronghold of th ...

, with his eldest son and heir, Patrick.

Marriage

The Earl married, before 1282, Marjorie, daughter of

Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan Alexander Comyn, 2nd Earl of Buchan (died 1289) was a Scoto-Norman magnate who was one of the most important figures in the 13th century Kingdom of Scotland. He was the son of William Comyn, jure uxoris Earl of Buchan, and Marjory, Countess o ...

by his spouse Elizabeth, daughter of

Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester Roger de Quincy, 2nd Earl of Winchester (c. 1195 – 25 April 1264), (Roger de Quincy is a subarticle in his father's article.) His dates are given as 1195?-1265 at the beginning of the subarticle, but his death date is given as 25 April 12 ...

by Ellen of Galloway. They had known issue: * Patrick de Dunbar, 9th Earl of March (1285–1369). * John de Dunbar of Derchester & Birkynside. * George de Dunbar, ancestor of the Mochrum family.Burke, Sir Bernard,

Ulster King of Arms Norroy and Ulster King of Arms is the Provincial King of Arms at the College of Heralds with jurisdiction over England north of the Trent and Northern Ireland. The two offices of Norroy and Ulster were formerly separate. Norroy King of Arms is th ...

, ''The Dormant, Abeyant, Forfeited, and Extinct Peerages of the British Empire'', London, 1883: 606 * Cecilia (not to be mistaken for Cecily, her aunt, who married James Stewart, High Steward of Scotland. Cecilia was probably born c.1291)

Notes

References

*Miller, James, ''The History of Dunbar'', Dunbar, 1830, pp. 24–34. *Bain, Joseph, ''Calendar of Documents relating to Scotland'', vol.IV, 1357–1509, pps.xx - xxiv, Edinburgh, 1888, for relationships in this Dunbar family refer to the 'Introduction' with other references in the main sections of the volume. *Dunbar, Sir Archibald H., Bt., ''Scottish Kings, a Revised Chronology of Scottish History, 1005 - 1625'', Edinburgh, 1899, pp. 87–93 and 282. {{DEFAULTSORT:March, Patrick IV, Earl Of 1242 births 1308 deaths Competitors for the Crown of Scotland Scottish soldiers People from East Lothian Earls of March (Scotland) 13th-century mormaers 14th-century Scottish earls